Eleanor and Park: Don't Pass Me By
by zrh
Summary: We know that Eleanor sent Park one mystical postcard, 'just three words long', but what happened next? Flash forward to the first day of college. Eleanor and Park have lost touch, and have no idea they are both attending the same out-of-state school. Will they be reunited? Or has too much happened, and have they changed too much?
1. Chapter 1

september. 1989.

1

eleanor

Eleanor jammed her headphones further into her ears and tried to ignore the nauseating gait of the Ford as it bounced down the I-94. It was hard to tell if she was more nauseous from the long backseat ride, or the prospect of starting fresh at a new school, yet again.

To be fair, this time it was college, and everybody would be starting fresh (hence the term _freshman_, she realized distractedly).

To be fair, starting over in St. Paul hadn't been all bad. At first she had experienced the requisite stares, comments about her crazy hair, and annoying surprise from her teachers when she showed her intelligence, but Eleanor was used to that. Besides, nothing could compare to what she had been through with the bullies in Omaha. Eventually, Eleanor had even made a few true friends at her new high school. Jamie and Melissa were good people, and she was going to miss them now that they were all going to separate schools. What Eleanor was most proud of, though, was finally showing everyone, including herself, what she was made of when she earned full scholarship to North Point University. Even her dad had sounded proud when she called to tell him. Not proud enough to show up at graduation, but still.

At the thought of school, her stomach flipped over nervously once again. Eleanor adjusted the volume of her Walkman, and leaned her head back. The Beatles' Blackbird crooned. _Take your broken wings and learn to fly_. Eleanor closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to relax.

"Almost there, Eleanor!" Aunt Susan said sweetly, smiling around the passenger seat.

"Yup", Eleanor replied, trying to sound more excited than tense. Her uncle, quiet as usual, just down geared the Volvo as he took the exit towards Evanston.

park

He wasn't sure, but Park thought he could see tears brimming in his mom's eyes as they parked the car in the visitor's lot in front of Gage Hall freshman residence. This only made him feel guiltier than he had in the past months since he had decided to go to school out of state. Deciding to go to school farther from home had been a big decision, but not a tough one in the least. Park was ready to leave Nebraska, and his high-school self, far behind. He would miss his mom some, and his grandparents a lot, but North had felt like the kind of place he would fit in from the moment he stepped on campus for his senior year visit and noticed that his guide, a junior named Finn, had both _Smiths _and _Misfits _patches on his jacket. He had been amazed to look around campus and see so many people that were just... _different_. There were white people, sure, but also Asians, a guy with a Mohawk, and even a group of women in traditional Muslim _hijabs_. For once, he hadn't felt like he was the most prominent-looking person around. Finding out that there was a sophomore course called 'Sociology of Music: A Survey of American Punk Rock' was just icing on the cake. Besides, it was driving distance away. If there was a really good reason, he could be home without too much trouble. This was how he had convinced his parents to let him take the Impala to campus with him, and thus why they had made the grueling road trip to Evanston by car: "As a family!" his mom had sung.

Not that it had taken much convincing to show his dad that it was a good idea for him to get further away from home. His father, now parking the truck filled with the rest of Park's boxes, looked downright jubilant. Usually this type of reaction would make Park feel angsty and annoyed, as he was so used to feeling towards his father's indifference, but at the moment it was a nice relief from his mom's sadness. Park, quite frankly, was stoked about the whole experience – from meeting his new roommate, to starting classes. He even (naively, he imagined), felt excited to eat in the dining hall for the first time. Just like a 'real' college student. It was starting to sink in that this was all happening, and now.

"Let's get this show on the road, you two", his father said buoyantly, slamming the truck door closed and undoing the tailgate. "If we haul all this stuff upstairs quickly, we can be back on the Interstate before too long, Mindy".

Park's mom huffed, "What's the rush?" and straightened her hair. Park could have been sure that she sniffled, but decided to ignore it. He hoisted a box from the back of the truck and walked towards the front doors of the residency hall, trying to ignore any emotions that were bubbling up inside. Other students and their parents were milling around, saying goodbye and unpacking cars in the parking lot. Someone was blasting a horrendous pop song from a radio in the lobby, but it added fun atmosphere nonetheless. Park held the door open for a stocky guy about his age and his parents, who had his hands full of bags. As he thought for the millionth time about who his potential roommate could be, his nerves fluttered just a little. To keep his mind off of it, he mentally ran through his to do list one more time: pick up his key from the front desk, unpack his room, sort out his parking pass, and find the student union building where he could pick up his meal card.

Through the lobby doors Park saw his mom and dad unloading the second and last load of items from the car and truck. The mid-afternoon sun shone outside, casting a cheerful glow on the beautiful campus. Park grinned internally, thinking: _finally_.


	2. Chapter 2

All characters belong to the wonderful Rainbow Rowell.

Thanks for reading! Comments, questions and feedback are appreciated!

2

eleanor

Eleanor awkwardly hugged Aunt Susan and Uncle Geoff goodbye at the door to her room, and watched them walk down the hall and into the elevator. As the elevator doors dinged shut she felt a rush of emotion that they had been kind enough to drive her in the first place. Now that they had left, she felt a mixture of relief and nerves. Relief that she no longer had to keep up a smiling face so that her aunt wouldn't worry, but nervous for an abundance of reasons that she couldn't even begin to describe. _Whatever_, she thought. _I've been on my own in more ways than one before now_. She steeled herself against whatever adversity was coming her way, slung her duffel bag onto her shoulder, and entered her room.

Dorms at North, hers anyways, weren't the way she had imagined, at least so far. She had been expecting an uncomfortable face-off with her roommate (Michelle, who had yet to arrive), regarding who would get the 'good' bed, and who would get the bed that occupied an uncomfortable corner beneath a dank, barred window. However, the room was surprisingly pleasant, although unremarkable. It was spacious, first of all, and both beds were beneath a big window that let in the warm sunlight. There was a small closet on either side of the door, and there was a decent sized desk at the foot of each bed.

After a moment of hesitation, Eleanor randomly chose the bed to the left, and began sorting through her clothes, folding them and placing them in the small dresser that doubled as a nightstand. She would leave the closet situation for now, as that would involve having clothes hangers, which she had been too embarrassed to ask her aunt and uncle to buy. They had already been so generous, when her earnings from her part time job at the Hog Shack hadn't quite covered her necessities for school. They had paid for her textbooks before her scholarship arrived so that she could do her readings for her advanced courses over the summer; and her aunt had come home with bags of supplies and decorations that she would need for her room. She could easily do without hangers for now, and when she figured out the details of her scholarship, she would deal with minor details and expenses.

Eleanor mentally reminded herself to figure out where the student union building was on the map and go down to pick up her meal pass and sign for her funding when she felt a little more settled.

After her clothes were unpacked, Eleanor jammed her empty duffel bag under the bed and began unpacking some of her personal items and books onto the shelf. She glanced at the door from time to time, feeling self-conscious about the bubbly voices and girly conversations she could hear taking place outside in the hallway. From what she could hear, most girls on her floor had parents with them to help bring in their things and get settled. Mothers fussing, and fathers giving daddy's little girl one last hug before they set them free. Eleanor swallowed hard and tried to squelch the feeling that she was an impostor, just a poor girl with no parents to speak of, who didn't belong here with these scholars. Kids from fancy prep schools who probably hailed from a long line of college-educated scholars. Eleanor was certainly the first person in her family to go to college at all, let alone a high-ranking university outside of Nebraska on a full scholarship. While part of her swelled with pride at this idea, there was a small voice in her head that felt ashamed of her dysfunctional family.

Eleanor paused as she came to her shoebox of keepsakes. The thought of some of the memories associated with these items (Richie, and his house for the most part) made her shudder, but she went through the box from time to time nonetheless. Her old, now broken Walkman, a few old tapes, worn out batteries, her acceptance letter to North, a picture of her younger brother Ben that she had kept stuffed in a wallet, and a postcard.

Warm, tingly feelings rose in Eleanor's throat as she saw the postcard, and she wasn't sure if she would cry or laugh. She had forgotten it was there. She hadn't thought of Park in a long time. Of course, at first Park was _all _Eleanor could think about. Memories of his face, his eyes, his smell, his taste in music, his sense of humour, had haunted her. Her willpower against his many letters and attempts to see her had finally crumbled. When she sent him the postcard, saying what she had, she had been so consumed with homesickness, Parksickness, that she had actually started to think it could work with the two of them. She had realized quickly how unrealistic these thoughts would be. And realized that if she were this devastated and irrational after a few _months_ of being in love with him, how crazy she would go when he inevitably left her months or years ahead. Eleanor had regretted sending the postcard as soon as she had dropped it in the mailbox. Not because she didn't mean what she had said, but because she had meant it so much. On top of every other embarrassing thing Park knew about her family, she knew then that he knew too much of her heart as well. It made her feel completely exposed. Raw and vulnerable. She had vowed to move on, outwardly, if not inwardly. So, when his postcard had come in reply, she had not responded. She looked at the back of the postcard again now. Just nine words in his artistic scrawl:

"_I love you too. When can I see you?"_

When it had arrived, she had put it in the box immediately. Park had sent other letters after that again too. She had thrown them away without reading. Once, she even thought she heard the rumble of the Impala on their quiet suburban street. She had, almost involuntarily, smoothed her hair and waited for the doorbell to ring, but it hadn't. Instead she heard a car rumble down the street and fade to silence, leaving her feeling foolish and embarrassed at her overeagerness. After that, she hadn't heard from Park at all. Eleanor had thrown herself into her studies, joined the school trivia team, and applied for every part time job and babysitting gig she could get. Surprisingly, it had actually helped dull the sharp edges of Park and all the other painful memories she held on to from Omaha. After prom, Eleanor had even had a glass of champagne at Jamie's party and kissed one of her trivia teammates, Jon. It certainly wasn't the same as Park's passionate kisses, but at the time she hadn't compared the two. She had felt glad to be on the cusp of a new adventure and indebted to nobody but herself.

The sad/happy/warm/tingly feelings mingled together in the back of her throat as she gingerly held the postcard in her hands. It had been so long now that she could think fondly about Park and all he had done for her. Even his parents had been sweet, in the end. She would forever be thankful that they had helped her escape Richie. But now, now was a time for new beginnings. Eleanor took a breath and ripped the postcard into tiny pieces until they were too small to rip anymore. On second thought, she placed her acceptance letter and the photograph of Ben on her bed, and shoved the entire contents of the old shoebox into a garbage bag along with the ripped up postcard. _New beginnings_, she told herself.

Taking another deep breath, and giving herself a shake, Eleanor pulled on her ripped jean jacket and combat boots, grabbed her satchel, and headed out in search of the student union building and hopefully, something to eat.


	3. Chapter 3

All characters belong to the wonderful Rainbow Rowell.

Comments, questions and feedback are appreciated. Thank you for reading!

3

park

_So far, so good_. Park thought. His roommate, Alex, had been inside when he arrived with his parents.

"Alexander, but my friends call me Alex, nice to meet you. I haven't chosen a bed yet, so it's your pick, bro. Hope you're ok with the, uh, art", he had gestured to the wall of _Pixies _posters above the desks. Park had just grinned and shaken his hand.

"Hey, Alex. I'm Park Sheridan. These are my parents. They're leaving soon", and raised his eyebrows to his mom and dad. In the presence of a stranger, and the hustle and bustle of the hallway, Park's mom hadn't even cried.

They left without a hitch, and Park and Alex began discussing the pros and cons of _The Ramones_ vs. _Nine Inch Nails_. Park found out quickly that Alex was from Detroit, though his parents were from Puerto Rico, that he was on scholarship, loved punk music, and also had to walk down to the SUB to find out about his meal card. Park quickly threw his clothes in the closet, and they got ready to go out together.

As they walked past a pay phone in the lobby, Park halted. "Shoot, Alex, give me five minutes and I'll be right out. I have to, uh, make a call", he said sheepishly.

"No problem, bro, the SUB doesn't close until four", Alex smiled. He zipped up his hoodie and sat down on the front steps of the dorm.

Park rushed back in to the phones, noticing that it was 3:15. He had told Jen that he would call her as soon as he arrived, but had completely blanked. He found a quarter in his pocket for the phone, making a mental note to find out if they had phone access in their room or on their floor. Jen answered after the first ring.

"Hey babe!" she said perkily. That was the best word to describe Jen: perky. It had been her perkiness that had attracted to him in the first place in senior calculus. He had finally given up on pretending he was into Cat, and along came Jen. She was only a junior, and yet knew more than the rest of the class. Park, himself, had been failing calculus, and probably would have completely flunked if she hadn't started tutoring him. Her overly friendly ways had been off-putting to him at first. She was just _too much_. But it was nice, for a change, not to wonder if a girl liked him or not. When it turned out she, against all odds, as a bubbly, blond member of the cheer team, played bass guitar in an all-girl band called The Dolls, he was sold. They had dated on and off throughout his senior year, and when he was accepted to North she had seemed genuinely happy for him, although she was still back at home.

He considered her cheerful, drama-free demeanor with gratitude as they chatted. He told her about the drive out, his roommate, and told her he would call her again when he found out about phones.

"Bye, sweetheart", she purred. "Go find a frat party or something". They both giggled at the absurdity of that scenario, and hung up the phone.

Park glanced at the clock again on his way out. 3:27. Alex was waiting outside. They headed towards central campus, Alex pointing the way to the SUB on the other side of 'The Commons', the green space in the centre where students were lounging, playing Frisbee and pretty much looking like every college movie Park had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4

4

eleanor

Eleanor hurried along the sidewalk, although she noticed most students were walking in the street anyways. There didn't appear to be too many cars in central campus. There was a lot people-watching to be done, and she gratefully realized that for the first time in a while, she didn't stand out like a sore thumb. In fact, it seemed like people here were _trying _to stand out. A guy with several facial piercings, an angry-looking woman wearing very dark eyeliner and lipstick, and a shirtless guy with a backpack rolling down the middle of the street on a unicycle! In addition, campus really was beautiful. Sprawling, green grounds with old-timey looking buildings.

Eleanor had a map of the university in one hand, and was trying to look at it discreetly so as not to look like the college equivalent of a Hawaiian-shirt-wearing tourist: a completely lost freshman dork. The big clock above what appeared to be the library read 3:30. She picked up the pace, remembering again she needed to sign in by 4pm.

The SUB building appeared mercifully before her, just at the edge of a beautiful green space. Eleanor hoped she wouldn't feel too self-conscious to grab her book and Walkman and go read in this courtyard one day soon. She walked up to the big glass doors of the student union building and hauled them open. A sign pointed to 'Scholarships, Financial Aid' down hall to the left, and 'Meal Cards, Housing' straight ahead. _First things first_, Eleanor thought, and headed down the long hallway towards Scholarships.

park

"Hey man, I need to go sign for my scholarship, but let's go line up for our meal cards together first", Alex said jovially. Park was thankful that Alex was going to come with him. Not that he needed someone to hold his hand, but it was nice to have someone along for the same ride. He felt a little self-conscious about his eyeliner now that he was in the midst of so many new people, but Alex didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah sure". They headed straight ahead towards an ever-growing line-up. Park glanced from side to side: so much was _unfamiliar_ and he loved it. It was almost impossible to tell who was a freshman, who was a senior, and in some cases, who was a professor. He couldn't help but wonder who else was an Arts major, who else was hoping to concentrate on the history of music. Who else would cross his path on this new adventure?

As Park stared through the crowds he felt his heart skip a beat like a quick stab to the chest. He could have sworn he saw a bushy ponytail of red hair in the sea of bodies.

_Eleanor_.


	5. Chapter 5

Characters belong to the wonderful Rainbow Rowell.

Comments, questions and feedback are appreciated. Thank you for reading!

5

park

As quickly as he thought it, he realized how foolish he had been. His heart still beat a little too quickly, but his rational brain took over. Of course it wasn't Eleanor.

After receiving that one, mystical postcard and then never hearing from her again, he had used almost all his energy to dispel every Eleanor-related thought that crossed his mind. Park was actually surprised at how quickly she had come to mind here at the mere sight of red hair. _Always lurking beneath the surface_, he thought bitterly, but then swallowed those bitter thoughts, and told himself he must just be looking for a taste of home.

Park had never listened to The White Album again, and boycotted certain Smiths songs, even now. He forbade his parents and grandparents from mentioning Eleanor, and had almost punched Steve (again) after he made an offhand comment about Eleanor last summer. After a particularly embarrassing drive to St. Paul, when he had almost walked up her driveway and rang the doorbell, but was left feeling more like a psycho stalker than a lover, Park had vowed to get over Eleanor once and for all.

And it had worked, for the most part.


	6. Chapter 6

eleanor

When Eleanor got back to her room, Michelle was there unpacking. Forget the reserved politeness that Eleanor had worried about, her roommate had no reservations.

"Oh heyyyyy, you must be El'nor", Michelle drawled. She had the most beautiful hair Eleanor had ever seen, woven into a million intricate braids, as well as the smoothest, dark brown complexion.

"Hi, Michelle", she grinned. It hadn't been awkward, and it hadn't been feckless, but it had been natural. Eleanor had sat on her bed and listened to the easy conversation from her new roommate flow naturally. She found out that Michelle's parents were human rights lawyers in Pennsylvania, that Michelle hoped to major in sociology and then pre-law, and that her boyfriend was studying engineering at MIT.

Eleanor also found out that her new roommate had been offered a serving job at the on-campus pub, and that they were still looking for help. With her experience at the Hog Shack, Eleanor figured she should apply, and looked forward to it.

The only thing left to dread, she realized, was class itself.

park

Alex, it turned out, had a whole group of high school buddies attending North. They asked Park if he had a fake ID, and when he didn't they rallied him to go out to the pub with their Japanese friend's driver's license. In the spirit of new beginnings, he agreed. He didn't drink, but still engaged in a host of debauchery, and enjoyed getting to know Alex's friends. He even met Jerome who was also hoping to major in Sociology with a focus in music. Park had recovered from his earlier stint – when he thought he had seen Eleanor. In fact, he was angry with himself for so readily bringing back those memories, and vowed to ignore any emotions related to _her_ that came up in the future. _These are the heartaches that make you stronger_, he vowed to himself. Somewhat cheesily, he admitted that he was young, free, and ready to make new memories that did NOT involve a red-headed girl from Omaha, Nebraska.


	7. Chapter 7

eleanor

Class. Work. Repeat. That's what she lived for. There was a surprising deficit in drama compared to what Eleanor was used to and had expected. Michelle hated working and gave her hours all the time at the Pit (the campus pub). Her classes were both boring and scintillating at the same time. While she liked the anonymity of sitting in the back of a freshman lecture, she found the content interesting and listened to lectures she tape dover and over. Eleanor didn't speak to her aunt and uncle, and kind of like it that way. Her coworkers listened to pop music that she would have once made fun of. _Touched for the very first tiiiiiiiiiiiime _by Madonna. But she liked it. She let herself free in it.

park

Alex was a great roommate, but Park connected more with his friends from his classes. Once a week they all got together at the Pit (the campus pub). Tuesday night was karaoke night, and Park was not shy. After he found out how easygoing Alex was, he even began to apply his eyeliner with his thumb again. As one of the only part-Asian members of their group, pretty much anything went without question. When Park took a deep breath, for the first time in a long time his lungs filled freely and without guilt or restraint. _New beginnngs_, he thought to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

All characters belong to the talented Rainbow Rowell. Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment!

November. 1989.

eleanor

Eleanor glanced up at the clock. 7:14. The Pit would start to get busy within the next hour, when groups of rowdy freshman usually came in with their fake IDs and drank pitchers of beer. Eleanor didn't work on the bar side because she was underage, and was usually just responsible for the tables in the restaurant. She heard the bartenders complain about the underage drinkers though, and from time to time recognized someone from a class. The campus bars were surprisingly lenient when it came to drinking. Eleanor had been invited out with Jenny and Liz on a couple of occasions, but had opted for a quiet night at home with her book instead. Partly because she couldn't exactly drink at The Pit where she worked, and secondly because the smell and taste of alcohol made prickly memories of Richie rise up in the back of her mind.

Tuesday was usually her day off because it got so busy with karaoke they needed a server who could work the bar as well. With cold season and midterms upon them though, Eleanor's manager had practically begged her to come in. She absentmindedly tidied up the back work area while she waited for the storm of students to rush in.

Before too long the bar was as busy as she'd seen it. To top matters off, someone else had called in sick and Eleanor's coworkers Matt and Jordan were run off their feet. It was all Eleanor could do to help out bussing tables, taking orders and running back and forth under Matt's frantic direction. Just as she dumped a bin of dirty dishes in the back, Matt raced through the swinging doors, nearly knocking over a tray of pint glasses.

"_Eleanor_ I'm going to need you out front, ASAP. There's a big group at table 12 that needs their drinks" he barked.

Eleanor paused. "Errr… I'm still only 18, I don't think I'm allowed behind the bar" she stammered. Matt was nice enough, but his traditional, athletic good looks and boisterous attitude intimidated her. As soon as she'd spoken she could tell she had annoyed him.

"What are you, the liquor board? There are customers that need their drinks" he practically spat at her. Eleanor just shrugged her shoulders and self-consciously tightened her apron as she quickly headed out into the front and towards the bar. _Here goes nothing_ she told herself.

Out in the front the bar was loud and hectic. A group of girls were screaming Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" on the karaoke stage, and missing every note from what Eleanor could tell. Almost every table was full of students with plates of nachos and wings and pitchers of beer in various stages of being devoured in front of them. Eleanor spotted the table across the floor that was waiting for their drinks. About ten guys, a couple of whom she recognized as freshmen sat anticipating their beer. _Great, not only am I serving alcohol illegally, I'm serving it to minors_, Eleanor mused. There was no time to worry though, because she could see the bartender loading up a tray of pints that needed to be delivered.

Eleanor thanked the bartender and awkwardly picked up the tray. It was surprisingly heavy and all the liquids sloshed around in the glasses as she shifted her weight. She teetered for a moment and nearly lost it. "You ok?" the bartender, Joe, asked her dubiously. She just smiled and began to inch towards the group of thirsty customers a few steps at a time. As she approached the table, she noticed the guys staring at her, and felt her face start to get hot. She would have liked to reach down and adjust the neckline of her t-shirt but she wouldn't dare risk the tray of beer. A beefy blonde freshman at the table elbowed his friend and snickered and they all turned around to look at her slowly moving along. Feeling self-conscious, Eleanor picked up the pace and tried to look more professional. _You graduated high school with honours, this isn't rocket science_ she chided herself.

She took a few more steps, and a customer at the adjacent table took that moment to scoot back in his chair, right into her hip. Eleanor twisted to dodge the chair but lost her balance, clumsily dropping the tray with all the beer. She saw the golden liquid jump out of the glass, and saw the glasses tip over like dominoes, and fall to the floor. In her effort to stop them, Eleanor lost her footing and crashed to the floor along with the glasses and the tray, which clattered down onto her head.

The table of guys burst into laughter. "_Look at Big Red!"_ the blonde one howled. Eleanor was sure the other tables in the restaurant were staring as well. As she struggled to gain her composure, pick herself up on the floor and not get broken glass stuck in her hands, the boys broke into loud applause and continued their raucous laughter. Eleanor bit her lip hard, and tried not to cry. As she looked up, she made eye contact with the jerk who was laughing and clapping the loudest. Looked right into his perfect, green eyes, rimmed with eyeliner.

_Park_.


	9. Chapter 9

Eleanor and Park belongs to Rainbow Rowell. I have borrowed them for this sequel. Thank you for reading! If you stop by please leave a comment. I'm a new writer and would love some feedback to know how I can improve. Happy reading!

park

The Pit smelled of sickly stale beer and burnt cheese, the sound of karaoke singers pierced Park's eardrums, and the air was hot and humid from the contrast of everyone's wet jackets against the warm air in the bar.

Park loved every minute of it.

Sure, some of Alex's friends were a bit rowdy and meat-headed sometimes, but Park had never felt so included by a group of guys before. He had always been The Small One, The Asian One, The Unathletic One. With these guys, he was just himself: Park. Or 'Sheridan', as they called him. They took his recommendations for music, invited him to work out at the gym, and Park had even noticed that Dave, who had Intro Sociology with him and Alex, had started wearing faint blue eyeliner when they went drinking. Park was even starting to enjoy the taste of beer, if it was served cold enough. He didn't indulge like some of the freshman on his floor, to the point of puking and forgetting what happened the night before, but he would sip on a glass, and revel in the warm loose feeling that crept up the back of his neck and into his cheeks.

Park looked around the bar now in search of their waitress. A small voice in the back of his head wondered how any establishment could possibly think their whole table was over 21, and worried that they were about to be denied their beer and thrown into the street by a surly bar manager. He was distracted from his worries by the conversation among the guys at the table. Mike, Alex's brawny friend from the gym, had set up a points system in which a guy would score 5 points for getting a girl's number, 10 for getting her to kiss him, and 100 for bringing her back to residence. So far their cumulative points total was 0. Park found it humorous to know that most of the guys at this table hadn't even had girlfriends before, let alone anything else. They knew he had a girlfriend back home, and somehow he thought this had helped win their respect, and exempted him from the competition for female attention. Park hadn't mentioned that he and Jen had spoken just a handful of times since that first call he had made, or that she had blatantly ignored his questions about hanging out over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. Not that he had asked too emphatically. Just as everything with Jen, there was very little drama; which equaled very little passion, and Park didn't mind one bit.

There was a lot to distract him here at North.

Something was distracting everyone at the table now. Mike elbowed Park in the ribs and he glanced up just in time to see a tray of beer go flying, along with whoever had been carrying it. He reflexively gasped and chortled, laughing and clapping along with the others. He craned his neck to look at the wreckage, wondering if it was the douchey waiter who had taken their order that had bailed so violently with their beers. Park laughed louder just at the thought. He laughed and clapped until he caught a glimpse of red hair. Red hair, smooth pale skin, and a face he would recognize anywhere.

_Eleanor._


	10. Chapter 10

Eleanor and Park belongs to Rainbow Rowell. I have borrowed them for this sequel. Thank you for reading! If you stop by please leave a comment. I'm a new writer and would love some feedback to know how I can improve. Happy reading!

eleanor

Eleanor's heart was beating fast in her throat. _Don't cry don't cry don't cry_ she chanted in her head. She pulled herself up from the slippery floor, shaking beer and bits of glass from her apron and trying not to give the entire room a view down her top. _If I were some cutesy waitress I would do a little curtsy and everyone would rush to my aid_, she thought sourly. Instead, the whole room was making fun of her, and nobody so much as offered to help her up. As gracefully as she could manage, Eleanor sped to the back room, face burning.

To her relief, the other servers were all out front, and she was able to catch her breath. _Was that really Park_? She wondered incredulously. But of course she knew the answer. She would recognize that face anywhere. What she hadn't recognized was the expression on his face; just like that of the other jerks at his table, that of the Steves and Tinas in the world who got their kicks from making fun of poor, pathetic, unpopular, fat girls like herself. That was what Eleanor could not understand. _Could so much have changed? _This last thought broke apart her composure. Eleanor felt a sob rise up in her throat and could not contain it. The embarrassment of the fall, the surprise at seeing Park and all he represented, and the fact that he was LAUGHING at her. She tried to catch the tears as they pooled in her eyes but it just wasn't working.

She saw the swinging door burst open and realized that now, on top of everything else, Matt was probably going to fire her. Matt, just another popular jock, who saw her as an incompetent fool. As he hustled over to her, the look on his face said it all: he was furious. Eleanor choked back her tears and started to stammer an apology, but Matt's booming presence silenced her.

"Eleanor are you ok?" he asked. "Those assholes, did they trip you?" Surprised, she shook her head. "Well, they've all been kicked out, stupid freshmen coming in here trying to drink and treating our staff like shit", he snarked. "I'm so sorry for asking you to run those beers. I was out of line, I hope you're not hurt", he said more softly.

Eleanor, surprised by his kindness, felt like crying even harder. _Why do I feel like bawling every time someone is even remotely nice to me!? _she thought pathetically. Matt grabbed her hand, shocking her even more. "You _are_ hurt!" Eleanor noticed that she had a cut from the broken glass in the palm of her right hand. It didn't hurt at all, but was dripping a generous amount of blood down the rest of her hand.

Without saying another word, Matt pulled her into the manager's office and sat her down. He took out the first aid kit and began to clean the cut gently. Graciously, he didn't try speaking to her again. Eleanor could feel her heart rate start to slow down, and her tears subside to the back of her throat. She took a deep breath.

Matt continued to rant about the audacity of freshmen and underage drinking. She was surprised at his kindness actually, having assumed that Matt was just another jerk. Sure, he was handsome: longish brown hair, blue eyes, muscular arms, tight white t-shirts; but he clearly had a heart as well.

"You know what, Eleanor, we should be able to handle the rest of the night without you", he said now. "You go on home, and I'll sign you out at 11 so you still get paid".

Eleanor looked into Matt's face as he wrapped a bandaid around her thumb. He smiled at her, almost timidly. With horror, she realized that Matt wasn't being kind to her, he wasn't being generous. He _pitied_ her. Her face burned more than when she had fallen in front of Park and his friends. She stuttered a thank you, and stumbled out of the manager's office to grab her bag and coat.

Only when she was walking towards her dorm in the cold rain and she realized she still had her beer-stained apron on did she let herself begin to sob.


End file.
